Yesterday (March 19), Mexico celebrated the Day of the Artisan. Well, celebrated isn’t really the right word. COVID-19 (aka, coronavirus) was the elephant in the country.
I had long-planned to attend the always well curated 3-day Día del Artesano craft sale at Andares del Arte Popular. It’s an opportunity to meet and buy directly from the craftspeople who weave the rugs, embroider the cloth, shape the clay, carve and paint the wood, and the work of other amazingly talented artisans.
However, the sale was very responsibly canceled. Tourists and winter visitors are scrambling to return home as soon as possible, restaurants are either closing or offering only take-out service, and as I write, the city has begun instituting measures to restrict people from gathering in public spaces and calling on public transit to limit or suspend service, among other actions.
Oaxaca’s tourist-driven economy is going to take a tremendous hit. Right now, the best way to honor the artisans is to treasure the beauty they have brought to our lives. And, when the day eventually comes that we can again move about freely, we should seek them out, thank them for joy their talent brings us, and (hopefully) empty our pocketbooks a little more than usual.
Almost life-size ceramic sculptures are by the Aguilar family in Ocotlán de Morelos and were on display at Andares this month.
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